The Fulton County School System beat Georgia in every subject in every grade in percentages of students meeting or exceeding standards on the 2013 Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, except for sixth-grade math, for which they tied at 82.7.

The CRCT measures how well students in grades three through eight are learning reading, English/language arts, math, science and social studies.

Fulton School Superintendent Robert Avossa said in a statement more students this year exceeded standards, which sets the agenda for future classroom instruction.

“We want to see improvement in all academic areas,” he said. “It’s important that we continue to raise the ceiling as well as the floor when it comes to student achievement.”

Reading achievement was greatest across the board, with Fulton students registering 93.2 to 97.7 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards.

Those levels were followed closely by the related English language arts, which include writing.

Results ranged from 89.5 percent in third grade to 95.4 percent in eighth grade meeting or exceeding standards.

By law, students in grades 3, 5 and 8 must meet or exceed reading standards to be promoted to the next grade.

For Fulton, 7 percent of third-graders will be candidates for remediation and retention, compared to 8 percent statewide.

Grade 5 and 8 students also have to meet or exceed standards in math.

Math results show 10 percent of Fulton fifth-graders and 16 percent of its eighth-graders will require extra study or be left back, compared to 11 and 17 percent for the state, respectively.

Science scores spiked for both county and state in the fourth and seventh grades, posting mid-80s percentages, but hovered between the mid-70s and 80.6 in grades 3, 5, 6 and 8.

In social studies, 80.2 to 84.8 percent of Fulton testers met or exceeded standards, compared to a statewide range of 77.5 to 83.4.

State Superintendent John Barge said in a statement the 2014-15 school year will be more challenging due to new federal criteria.

They will change the cut score, or number of questions a student has to get correct to meet the standards.

“The new cut scores will likely result in fewer students meeting and/or exceeding standards,” Barge said, “but that is common when you change to a new and more rigorous test.”

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